San Sebastian coach Egay Macaraya. NCAA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Even after rebounding with a win over Mapua, San Sebastian head coach Egay Macaraya is still feeling the effects of his team’s stinging loss to College of St. Benilde last Friday.
Macaraya cried foul over the officiating in the fourth quarter of the Stags’ 100-96 loss to the Blazers.
“We can’t play good basketball if they call fouls on even the smallest plays. That was the problem, not my players. How can we play good and hard basketball when they’re calling on soft plays?” Macaraya said after a 57-56 victory over Mapua on Sunday.
“That last game, we were surprised. But still, the kids overcame today and we tried to win the game in the fourth quarter,” he added.
San Sebastian nearly came back from a huge deficit but just fell short in a game where its key cogs Alex Desoyo, Jessie Sumoda and Raymart Escobido all fouled out in the game.
“That’s not right. How will we be motivated to play if, at the time, three of our players fouled out? What kind of foul? You saw the game today, players fell and still no fouls because that’s what the audience of the NCAA wants to see.”
Against the Cardinals on Sunday, the Stags again needed to mount a comeback from a double-digit hole, but this time, they were able to complete their rally.
“We saw how Mapua and us played. We played physically but it’s still a nice game,” Macaraya said.
San Sebastian leaned on Romel Calahat, who gave Mapua fits with 17 points and 17 rebounds.
The Golden Stags will look to improve from their 2-1 win-loss record against San Beda, which holds a 1-2 card, on Wednesday, 12 pm.